Must make Banana Bread bake

I have this recipe on speed dial in my ever growing list of ‘must bakes’ – it is one of my absolute favourites. I don’t know why I haven’t blogged it before now – I think maybe I was thinking there are so many Banana Bread recipes out there, no one wants to see another one!! Then I thought about it some more & realised that in order for me to settle on this particular version, I tried lots of different recipes & am always looking for my next ‘favourite’, even while I am touting the ‘favourite-ness’ of this one.

Yes … mine is a fickle brain indeed! Suffice to say, I decided sharing is never a bad thing – especially if you are like me & want to experiment with different combinations, textures & flavours. I took my main inspiration for this from the ever amazing Bill Granger.

What are this main things I love about this Banana Bread you might ask? Even if you might not, I am going to bang on about them anyway! 🙂

It is a healthier version of a traditional recipe – in that, I have used wholegrain flour, light sour cream & coconut sugar as replacements for more heavily processed products like white flour & sugar.

Bored yet? Yeah, me too. What I really love about this recipe is that the combination of sweet chunky mashed banana, the earthiness of wholegrain flour & caramel flavoured coconut sugar gives this Banana Bread a density of rich texture & flavour that will leave you scrunching your face in delight with each bite. By then topping it off with an almond, coconut sugar crust, the melted sugar enhancing both the nutty flavour of toasted almonds & leaving a sticky, caramel melt that makes you go, “Mmmmmmmmm!”

I have shared my love of using Coconut Sugar on many occasions now & am finding that I use it more & more in my baking (& even on my porridge some days!). It works brilliantly well as a substitute for heavily refined sugars like white & brown & offers an amazing caramel flavour that gives more traditional recipes another dimension of taste. It has a lower GI than refined sugar & while a little more expensive, it goes a long way & is a far more sustainable product overall. Be aware though, it does not contain less calories – if you’re looking for refined sugar substitutes with that, you might want to take a closer look at Stevia products.

Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry, folding through gently until just combined.

Add the mashed banana & fold gently through.

Divide the batter as evenly as you can between the two tins - mine are a slightly different size, so it's a bit hard to judge halves - but you as close as you can will do.

TOPPING;

Chop almonds to preferred consistency & combine with the brown sugar.

NOTE - As I was using coconut sugar & it is quite coarse, I combined the sugar & almonds in the chopping attachment of my stick blender & gave them a few good pulses to finely chop the nuts & blend the sugar to a fine powder. This is not necessary, but assists with the coconut sugar in breaking it down so it caramelises more consistently when cooked.

FINALLY;

Sprinkle sugar and almond mixture generously over each tin of batter.

Place in the oven and cook for about 50 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean from the middle of the cake.

Leave in tins to cool for at least 10 minutes before turning out on a cake rack to cool.

Notes

Tips / Suggestions;

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Freezes well for up to 3 months.

Serve as is, or warmed slightly with a little added butter. If you want to be really indulgent, serve with custard. Deeeeelicious!!!

By Jodie@FreshHomeCook

Adapted from Bill Granger's Melt & Mix Banana Bread

Adapted from Bill Granger's Melt & Mix Banana Bread

Fresh Home Cook http://freshhomecook.com/

So there you have it! My version of a Must Bake Banana Bread Bake. I hope you like it as much as we do, quite regularly in fact!

Do you have a go to banana bread / cake recipe? I would love to hear about it!

Jodie, your posts and recipes are never boring! I feel my comments to you are getting boring as I just always want to say “wow, this looks delicious and your photos are great”. And so once again, the banana bread does indeed look delicious and your photos are great! However, I hesitate to say I will try this one as my oldest son has lately declared that while he loves bananas he hates banana cake and bread (weird). Changed my mind. His loss. I think I will indeed cook, eat and enjoy! xxx

Oooh I love the inclusion of coconut sugar! Very clever and extra delicious. The almond and brown sugar topping would be amazing. I often make banana bread so I’ve bookmarked this recipe for next time! Thank you so much for linking up with our Fabulous Foodie Fridays party! xx

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Since being diagnosed with IBS coupled with symptomatic malabsorption of gluten and lactose, I have made it my mission to find ways to turn my old favourite recipes into new 'free from' ones I can digest and the whole family can cook, eat and enjoy!

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